Battle Of L.A. Deserters Belongs To Raiders

Preseason

Raiders fans came to their long-awaited silver and black reverie wearing vintage jerseys bearing names such as Stabler and Blanda. They left praising a guy called Hoss and an opportunistic defense.

The Raiders, playing their first game in Oakland since moving back to the city they abandoned 13 years ago, won 27-22 Saturday over the St. Louis Rams in a preseason matchup. Jeff Hostetler went 9 of 14 for 63 yards and a touchdown while playing most of the first half for the Raiders.

Panthers 19, Broncos 10

At Clemson, S.C., the Denver Broncos’ revamped defense returned to its 1994 form and the result was a win for Carolina in its inaugural home exhibition game.

But both the Panthers and Broncos had almost all of their starters on the field in the second quarter, when Carolina erased a 7-0 deficit and took a 16-10 edge.

Washington 16, Houston 13 (OT)

At Knoxville, Tenn., Eddie Murray kicked three field goals in his debut with Washington, including a 53-yarder to tie it and a 34-yarder to beat Houston 16-13 in overtime.

Eagles 13, Jets 10

At Jackson, Miss., third-string quarterback Jay Fiedler led Philadelphia to a field goal in his only series as the Eagles beat New York.

Patriots 21, Vikings 14

At Foxboro, Mass., Hassan Graham and Scott Zolak connected on a 67-yard TD pass play with 2:40 left in the fourth in New England’s win. Drew Bledsoe was 13 of 19 for 153 yards for one touchdown.

Bills 9, Cowboys 7

At Toronto, Jim Kelly, playing in his first game since undergoing knee surgery during the off-season, played two series over the first 18 minutes before heading to the sidelines in Buffalo’s win. The game was played in the SkyDome before a sellout crowd that was pro-Dallas. Buffalo is about 90 miles south of Toronto.